Crowds thronged the capital today as the Imperial Museum revealed a recently-discovered portrait of one of Shireroth's national heroes.
Standing before an eager crowd of thousands, the director of the Museum of Imperial History, the entity responsible for collecting, preserving and displaying to the public antiquities relating to the history of the Kaisers, announced today that archeological excavations on the grounds of Raynor's Keep had uncovered a sealed room containing valuable artifacts from the early history of Shireroth. The items are believed to have been a collection of art assembled by the Kaisers of the First Era, and include several minor heirlooms of the Imperial Bloodlines, long thought lost, as well as a few Chaz Modanian sculptures.
The highlight of the find, however, is a large painting of Raynor I, the founder and first Kaiser of Shireroth.
It is not certain whether it was painted from life, although carbon-dating of the materials indicates that the portrait is at least old enough that the artist could have personally met the revered figure.
The portrait has now assumed a central place in the Imperial Museum. Due to the circular shape of the building's main hall, it cannot be hung on the walls, but is instead held up from the floor by a specially-designed support structure. The display has been praised for its easy visibility to visitors.
However, there have been concerns about the stability of the portrait's supports. Professor Aldaris, chair of art history at Sir John Metzler III University, was particularly emphatic; in an open letter to the Museum, he advised, "YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS!"
